Tesla Files For Dismissal of Eberhard Lawsuit

Tesla Motors has asked the courts of San Mateo County, California to dismiss the lawsuit filed against them by co-founder and former CEO, Martin Eberhard. Eberhard sued Tesla on May 26 for libel, slander and breach of contract.

Tesla's response was characteristic of their current CEO, Elon Musk. The motion filed on Monday neither shies away from controversy nor sugarcoats what has become a saga worthy of a Dr. Phil episode.

The electric car company says that Eberhard's lawsuit is "baseless" calling it, "...nothing more than an attempt to curb open discourse on matters of importance to the public and to extract money from Tesla in the bargain." And just in case you thought it wasn't personal, Tesla goes on to say that, "[Eberhard] also takes the extraordinary (and hypocritical) step of seeking an injunction that would prevent Musk from exercising his free speech rights in public or private."

In an email to Inside Line, Tesla spokesperson, Rachel Konrad, said that Eberhard's lawsuit, "...is a personal attack full of false statements and it paints a fictitious picture of Tesla's history that is sharply at odds with the truth."